By Josh Drobnyk Call Washington Bureau| The state Democratic Party has hit Carl Romanelli and his attorney with a nearly $90,000 tab a week after the Green Party candidate lost a legal challenge to his bid to get on the U.S. Senate ballot.

The bill, submitted as part of a state judge's ruling that Romanelli is responsible for all costs associated with the challenge, includes more than $48,000 in attorney fees. It adds to what Romanelli described as a deepening campaign debt.

This is one of the major reasons why I pulled out of my race for PA Senate in the 42nd district.

I could be, and should be on the ballot on November 7. But, doing so puts me and my family on thin ice. Very thin -- as in $90k underwater thin.

This is a freeze out of the highest order.

Fighting for the right to vote is important. Fighting for the right to have your vote counted is also very important. But, they (un-democratic democrats) hi-jack who you can vote for -- and hi-jack ballot access -- and hi-hack questions that are presented to the voters. And, if you fight, you face a $90,000 bill.

When I went to court in the middle of August, 2006, the first thing I asked about was court costs. We were called to order, and I didn't sit down. "Your honor, I have a few matters that need your attention before we begin...."

Court costs were not part of the threat in the ballot challenge I was presented. But, I needed to know, up front, if my case would ever come to a point where I would be on the hook for paying for court costs. And, if I would ever be on the hook for paying for the opposition attorney fees. I wanted to have those facts understood and up-front before we were to proceed.

I hadn't even activated a bank account for my campaign. I had $0 in the bank in my PAC -- because the PAC wasn't even alive yet.

I was there without an attorney. I was there as a citizen candidate who had the right to be on the ballot because I had done the necessary paperwork and gotten the signatures to go before the voters for them to decide who should be the state senator.

It was estimated by a few good friends of mine that the opposition attorney had already racked up between $5,000 and $10,000 in legal charges. And, I hadn't yet begun to defend my campaign's hope of reaching the voters.

My court date was in mid-August, and today the newspaper are reporting today on yesterday's final outcome of the Romanelli appeal. That's the same timeline I was looking at.

It took another local, political friend, Titus North, and his team, more than a month of legal fighting, day-in-day out to get to a decision on his opportunity to be a candidate before the voters. His decision was known in mid September.

Titus North, Green Party Candidate for US Congress. He spent two weeks in a tent in Harrisburg to stay on the ballot. More than half of the challenges the Ds put before the judge were nothing but fiction.

I took this photo of Titus after Bob O'Connor's funeral mass on September 1. The proceedings in court were still underway that week.

This isn't unreal -- but a part of the bag of tricks of the un-democratic democrats. They have a standard play book, and this is what you do on 2nd down. Even if it is second down and less than a yard to go.

The United States sends men and women around the world to stand in harms way to fight for democracy. For what?

Wayne Fontana put that legal challenge against me -- and in doing so I feel that he greatly discounted the worth and dignity of all American veterans of all time. Wayne Fontana has a committee assignment that deals with Veterans Affairs. He needs to overhaul his sense of duty to them.

Wayne Fontana can stand up and tell veterans that they went to war to fight for this country and our freedoms and rights. Fontana can say, Democracy is important to our nation, except now, when Fontana is in charge of a stash of slush money that gives democratic cronies access to legal henchmen to knock down anyone who might offer peeps of challenges.

Bob Casey Jr, you stink.

Wayne Fontana, you stink.

Un-democratic democrats, you all stink.

Senator Jim Ferlo didn't file a challenge against his opponent. He doesn't stink.

US Congressman, Mike Doyle, you stink.

Tens of thousands of signatures that came from tens of thousands of citizens of Pennsylvanias didn't mean jack. Thousands of people got ignored. The judge sealed that decision and it was pushed along by the democrats. The big blame goes onto the backs of the democrats.

It took six weeks for the fight to occur in the courts. It took another six months of gathering signatures. Meanwhile, we have little else to talk about in terms of what Romanelli has to say on the issues. Skunked.

We all loose.

Perhaps Pennsylvania is 46th out of the 50 states in terms of job creation. But, I have a hunch that PA is 50th out of 50th in terms of its sense of democracy.

This is what is killing our state, our region and our city. People in power don't have respect for the big-minded values of what makes us different and something other than those we fight against.

Bob Casey Jr. does not get my vote.

Yes, it is being reported that the decision to knock Romanelli off the ballot is a big victory for Casey. No way. I see it in another way. Casey's goons knocked Romanelli off the ballot and knocked democracy in the teeth in doing so.

Then they issue a dental bill for $90,000 to be paid by the citizen candidate Romanelli. He works for the rail road. He went through hell just to get an attempt to try to serve his country and this is the thanks he gets -- from Casey and his cronies.

Perhaps it is Casey's wish to put PA back into the dark ages. He just wants to win. Screw that mentality.

Tiny brained leadership stinks. Fontana fits that mold too.

I'm glad I pulled out of the state senate race, before the judge, when I did. I'm glad I don't have a $90,000 bill to pay. Well, perhaps my bill would have been half of that. I'm still glad I don't have a $45,000 bill to pay.

Rick Santorum is no friend of mine. But Casey and Fontana and Doyle have proven to be mortal enemies to democracy. They don't believe that the people should decide, as I do.

Futhermore, I know of a lot of Democrats who are aiding and helping Rick Santorum. Likewise, I know of a lot of Republicans who are aiding and helping Bob Casey. When I ran as a Libertarian, I had a lot of help from Ds, Rs, Is, and Gs. People in the U.S.A. have a RIGHT to Free Association. It is understood and even healthy when there are different camps and different campers moving about from campaign and candidate -- as they so choose. Choice is great!

So, don't expect this crap to stick concerning how Romanelli, a Green, was 'funded' as some secret double agent for the status quo vangards. That is spin that resonantes with me much like what I've seen going down the drain in a toilet.

Romanelli took some campaign money from Rs. So what. Romanelli also took money from Ds, Greens and others. Casey takes money from Rs. Santorum takes money from Ds. So what. I'd love to see more and more folks fund third party folks because they love democracy.

It takes all types to make the world go around. Perhaps this is why Pennsylvania and our region are flat. Pennsylvania is old school. Pennsylvania is without the buzz of diversity, without inclusion. PA is where people get to ride on the laurels of their parents, Bob Casey, Jr.

People vote with their feet. People are leaving Pennsylvania. This is why.

People won't go out to vote for Bob Casey. Bob Casey and his cronies are clueless about democracy. Bob Casey is clueless about how to make peace.

Bob Casey doesn't win friend, influence people nor get votes by signing off on pay raise checks while State Treasurer, not showing up for work, nor kicking democracy in the teeth and sending a bill of $90,000 to those who just got kicked.